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Singin'
in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a musical with a book by
Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music
by Nacio Herb Brown.
Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name,
the plot closely adheres to the original. Set in Hollywood in
the waning days of the silent screen era, it focuses on romantic
lead Don Lockwood, his sidekick Cosmo Brown, aspiring actress
Kathy Selden, and Lockwood's leading lady Lina Lamont, whose less-than-dulcet
vocal tones make her an unlikely candidate for stardom in talking
pictures.
The West End production, directed by Tommy Steele
and choreographed by Peter Gennaro, opened on June 30, 1983 at
the London Palladium, where it ran for two years and three months.
Singin' in the Rain depiects Don Lockwood a silent
film star with humble roots as a musician, dancer and stunt man.
Don barely tolerates his vapid leading lady, Lina Lamont, who
is convinced that their screen romance is real. After the first
talking picture, The Jazz Singer, proves to be a smash hit, the
head of the studio, R. F. Simpson, decides he has no choice but
to convert the new Lockwood and Lamont film, The Dueling Cavalier,
into a talkie. The production is beset with difficulties, by far
the worst being Lina's comically grating voice.
After a disastrous test screening, Don's best
friend, Cosmo Brown, comes up with the idea to overdub Lina's
voice and they convince Simpson to turn The Dueling Cavalier into
The Dancing Cavalier, a musical comedy film. Meanwhile, Don falls
in love with an aspiring actress, Kathy Selden, who is providing
the voice for Lina. When Lina finds out, she is furious and does
everything possible to sabotage the romance. She maliciously demands
that Kathy continue to provide her voice in all future films,
but remain uncredited. An irate, but desperate Simpson is forced
to agree; Kathy has no choice because she is under contract.
The premiere is a tremendous success. When the
audience clamors for Lina to sing live, Don and Cosmo improvise
and get Lina to lip-synch while Kathy sings into a second microphone
while hidden behind the curtain. Unbeknownst to Lina, as she starts
"singing", Don, Cosmo and Simpson gleefully raise the
curtain behind her, revealing the deception. Kathy becomes a star,
and Lina is finished.
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